...defines earlier remediation research, however, continues to guide much of the prevention literature. Recent calls for more positive approach to understanding psychological well-being and development suggest that we reconsider the prevention framework in favor of one that embraces the promotion of positive adaptation, or competence development, through interventions targeted at the social contexts in which individuals engage (Tseng et al., 2002). This clarion call is particularly strong for research endeavors focused on youth "at risk," including those living in poverty (Larson, 2000; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; Seidman & Pedersen, 2003; Yoshikawa & Seidman, 2000).

It should be noted, however, that the roots of a positive psychology date back at least half a century. For example, Jahoda (1958) developed six criteria of positive mental health. One of these, the environmental mastery criterion, acknowledged the influence of the social context on individual development. More recently, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) have described three major strands of a positive psychology. Although two of these continue to focus on the individual (e.g., experience and personality), the third strand recognizes that "people and experiences are embedded in a social context" (p. 8). This third theme provides the foundation for the current study's exploration of contextual competence among urban youth. We believe that competence or positive functioning cannot be ascertained by simply examining person-centered characteristics. Competence unfolds in the daily transactions with the multiple social contexts in which youth are engaged.

In spite of the emphasis placed on the social contextual in the theoretical work of Jahoda (1958) and Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000), the language used in much of the empirical research on positive development among adolescents continues to stress individual agency over environmental press. Early investigations of adolescent competence were most often conducted under the rubric of resilience. The connotation of the concept of resilience is somewhat limiting, however, as reflected in recent critiques (e.g., Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998). Although resilience suggests the presence of a hazardous social context, it also implies that the individual is invulnerable to its impact or will "bounce back" from the onslaught of environmental stressors. Thus, the critical ingredients that determine positive development lie within the person rather than in experiences an individual has with different social contexts.

We have chosen to emphasize the setting-dependent nature of competence by introducing the construct "contextual competence." We explicitly define contextual competence with reference to the resources available to youth in different settings. Such a definition is consistent with prior work on adolescent competence development. For example, Masten and Coatsworth (1998) suggest that competence results from the "complex interactions between a child and his or her environment" (p. 206) and propose that the outward signs of competence change not only as the context changes but also as the individual progresses through childhood and adolescence.

Our concept of contextual competence also builds upon prior work in the areas of activity setting theory and the theory of arenas of comfort (e.g., Call & Mortimer, 2002; O'Donnell, Tharp, & Wilson, 1993; Simmons & Blyth, 1987). Activity setting theory emphasizes the importance of both the objective characteristics of the setting and the subjective experiences of the individuals within a setting. In addition, activity setting theory explicitly calls for the adoption of a transactional approach because the "important variables in activity settings are relationships" (p. 505).

Call and Mortimer's (2002) work on the concept of "arenas of comfort," originally developed by Simmons and Blyth (1987), further suggests that the transactions within a particular setting are not the only important predictors of development. The number of settings in which an individual is engaged also affects his or her well-being. Engagement in multiple "arenas of comfort" or activity settings is expected to lead to the most positive developmental outcomes because success in one arena may buffer the negative effects of failure in another. The benefits of engagement in multiple arenas of comfort are thought to be particularly robust during adolescence because this developmental stage is characterized by normative change and stress in many contexts, such as the family and school (Call & Mortimer, 2002).

In sum, a focus on contextual competence suggests that youth positive development cannot be fully understood by simply examining an individual's transactions with a single social context, such as the academic or peer group settings. Instead, we contend that competence unfolds simultaneously in multiple proximal social contexts (Yoshikawa & Seidman, 2000). Further, we posit that human development is a holistic process in which individual development in the physical, cognitive, emotional, psychological, and social domains are mutually influential (Mahoney & Bergman, 2002). Therefore, to truly grasp the multidimensional meaning of a person's competence, one must examine the "package" of their different relations to their proximal social contexts (Yoshikawa & Seidman, 2000).

The Current Study

In the current study, we seek to uncover different patterns of contextual competence in a sample of low-income urban adolescents. We employ a methodology that allows us to explore adolescent engagement in multiple settings that may individually or in combination enhance youth outcomes. As suggested by activity setting theory, we assess adolescents' subjective experiences (i.e., involvement, relationship quality, and performance) in proximal social contexts that may influence their development. For example, to represent competence in the athletic domain, we examine both frequency of participation in athletic activities and events and youths' perceptions of the quality of this participation.

We also examine the number of contexts in which urban adolescents in our sample are engaged, as suggested by the theory of arenas of comfort. Adolescents prepare for adulthood by establishing and cultivating their connections to contexts outside the family system. Through their experiences in these contexts, youth may acquire new skills that help them achieve their goals in adulthood. For adolescents, the peer group, school, athletics, employment, religion, and culture constitute critical emerging domains for development during this life stage (Barber, Eccles, & Stone, 2001; Burton, Obeidallah, & Allison, 1996; Donahue & Benson, 1995; Dubois, Felner, Brand, Phillips, & Lease, 1996; Mortimer, Finch, Shanahan, & Ryu, 1992; Pedersen, 2004; Pedersen & Seidman, 2005; Seidman et al., 1999). Transactions within each of these domains can, potentially, foster the growth of new skills and competencies. Thus, we expect that an adolescent's level of engagement and quality of performance in these domains will reflect competence and predict developmental outcomes associated with competence. (5)

Goals of the Current Study

Two related and overarching goals drive the current study. Our first goal is to describe meaningful patterns of involvement and performance in six key contexts of urban youth development. Our second goal is to determine how these patterns of involvement and performance are related to concurrent indicators of positive and negative youth adjustment.

In pursuit of these overarching goals, the current study will identify holistic patterns of adolescent contextual competence in the domains of the peer group, school, athletics, religion, work, and culture. We first conduct an exploratory factor analysis in order to determine whether our multiple indices of engagement reflect the six expected context-specific factors. We then enter the emergent context-specific factors into a person-oriented cluster analysis to uncover configurations or "profiles" of contextual competence. Next, we assess the differential associations of the profiles with youth demographic characteristics. Finally, we examine the relationships among the profiles and developmental outcomes, including self-esteem, depression, and delinquency.

The findings of past research efforts have led us to hypothesize a number of specific associations between profiles of contextual competence and the developmental outcomes. For example, Dubois et al. (1996) found that global self-esteem is related to and built upon self-evaluations within salient domains of adolescent experience, including the peer group, school, and athletics. Therefore, we expect that youth in profiles reflecting positive engagement in multiple contexts of competence development will exhibit the highest levels of self-esteem. Youth engaged in a single context should also experience positive self-esteem. We expect that youth reporting low engagement and performance in all domains, however, will exhibit low self-esteem. These disengaged youth have fewer opportunities to develop the positive context-specific self-evaluations that translate into greater estimations of global self-worth. Past research linking self-esteem to depression suggests a similar series of contrasts would also reveal meaningful differences in depressive symptoms (Roberts et al., 2000).

In contrast, previous studies suggest that high engagement in some contexts will be associated with risk for greater delinquency regardless of the characteristics of the other contexts in which youth engage. These risky contexts include the peer group, athletics, and employment (see Mortimer et al., 1992; Pedersen, 2004; Seidman et al., 1999; Steinberg, Fegley, & Dornbusch, 1993). Thus, we anticipate that contrasting profiles marked by high engagement with peers, athletics, and employment with those representing low engagement and achievement in these domains will reveal meaningful differences among youths' involvement in delinquency.

METHOD

Sample and Procedures

Data were drawn from the Adolescent Pathways Project (APP), a four-wave longitudinal study of urban youth. Poverty was the central risk condition of the APP. Therefore, students attending New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, DC public schools in which high percentages of children received reduced priced or free lunch were targeted for participation in the study (Seidman, 1991). During the first three waves of the study, students were surveyed in their classrooms. The current study, however, uses data from the fourth wave. During much of 1993, 1994, and 1995, participants in at least the first wave of the APP in New York City or Washington, DC, were contacted at home and asked to participate in a fourth wave of data collection. Trained female graduate students then conducted face-to-face interviews in their offices at New York University and George Washington University. When this was not possible, interviews were conducted in other public spaces, such as libraries and restaurants.

The final sample consisted of 560 urban adolescents, or 65% of those who participated in the first year of the APP. The youth resided in...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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